Valerie Lang

How I Can Help
I limit my practice to family relations matters and currently provide services in Ashland, Richland and Wayne Counties. Here are the categories into which my work fits:

Collaborative Divorce Representation

As your counsel in a Collaborative Divorce case I first provide assistance in finding a qualified attorney for your spouse. As a party to your Collaborative Family Law Agreement, we work together within the Collaborative Family Law Process to achieve the best possible outcome for your family.

Traditional Divorce Representation

Not all marriages are candidates for the Collaborative Family Law process and you may need to sue your spouse for a divorce. I recommend the traditional divorce where there has been a history of oppression by one party (whether physical , financial or emotional) and where there is concern that a spouse is hiding money. You will also need a traditional divorce if your spouse is neither oppressive nor furtive but, instead, refuses to take any steps toward the logistical part of ending the marriage.

Dissolutions

If you and your spouse agree on grounds for the ending of your marriage and how child, property and debt issues will be allocated, you are fortunate. My job will not be to justify my lawyerly existence by talking you out of your agreement. My job will be to ensure that you understand the process of a dissolution, the substance of your particular agreements, to provide a checklist for any loose ends that you and your spouse may have overlooked in your discussions, and prepare documents that meet your goals and protect your future.

Post-Decree Custody Modifications

Things change. What was best for your children at one point in their lives may no longer serve their needs. I can evaluate your situation, help you determine how to move forward and, if necessary, help you through the court process necessary to serve your child(ren)'s best interest(s).

Strategy Sessions

With so much information floating around and the mental chatter taking place inside your head, a one-on-one consultation can bring clarity to your life. A strategy session with me is a one-one-one consultation in which we discuss where you have been, where you hope to go, alternatives for accomplishing your objectives, the costs of their accomplishment from a holistic perspective (i.e. not simply financial), and the next steps, if any. You will have the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered.

Prenuptial Agreements

Second marriages comprise many of the marriages taking place in America today. Unfortunately, statistics tell us that the divorce rate is higher for second marriages than it is for first. I understand the optimism (and relatively low net worth) that are brought to first marriages. I strongly recommend prenuptial agreements to protect children, property and income going into a second marriage.

Cohabitation Agreements

Not all relationships lead to marriage. If you are in a long-term relationship with someone, it is important to put expectations such as raising children, property ownership and debt responsibility in writing.